Putty!!

HEY, i just pickd up some putty and i some TS-20 metallic GREEN paint to go on my testarossa!!! well anyways.. this putty business... ive been lookin at a lot of the forums on here, but none of them really show exactly how to MAke sideskirts, bumpers, etc... Can someone help me..~~

i havent made any myself, but i believe that the general idea is as follows...

1. generate some sketches or at least know what you are doing before you start. the last thing you want to do is change mid-modification and have to toss out your work.

2. use styrene sheets to build up large areas. trim away whatever is necessary to get the base shapes and planes. cutting out the existing body panels/bumpers usually helps so that you can have places to mount your new kit. it also allows you to build on the side of the car. (good if you are making only 1 kit, bad if you are making a bunch of kits). use a brush on styrene bonder to glue the styrene together or to the car body.

3. use an epoxy type putty to fill in gaps, and make detailed shapes or other complex spots that the styrene sheets would be hard to use for. putty can be sanded and filed just like the model plastic, so you can perfect your shape after the putty dries. epoxy putty requires mixing, so dont mix the entire tube at once. only mix what you expect to use in the sitting. also, do not use 1 part putty (tamiya basic putty) as it is only designed for smoothing and filling, and it WILL shrink.

4. after the putty dries you can file/sand/shape any way you want. if you mess up, clean the sanding dust off the car, dry it, and reapply some more putty. then you can essentially start over.

5. have patience and take your time. this is not going to be super easy, but you will see that once you get going, you can do a lot more than you expected. also, start small.... dont try to do a full body kit right away. try making a new bumper, or ground effects/sideskirts. if you try to make something too complicated first, all you will do is get frustrated and then you wont want to try again...

hope that was helpful...

also, try to look around and see what is actually on real cars, or check out body kit manufacturer pages for ideas. it is usually easier to copy something than it is to come up with new ideas.

~mike

hey!!! i have another ?... on my ferrari... for the outside, there are a couple spots (grille, back) that are supposed to be painted a diff color... so what i did was covered the parts th at were suppposed to be black. And i started paintin the car green.. IT looks incredible... but the only thing........ how wouldi paint the black......... beacuse now, if i put masking tape overmy car it will ruin the paint job wouldn't it????????? plz help!!!!1111

Masking over a paint job is not to much of a problem if you do it right-

Let the paint harden (not just dry). Give it a week or two to be sure.

Use good quality masking tape. I use Tamiya tape, it expensive but iy does a great job.

Don't leave the tape on any longer than you have to.

Thanks...... do u want the maskin tape not that sticky.? is that why tamiya's stuff is good? or do u want it sticky...... i have some tape and if u could tellme if it was ok then........... heres a bad pic of some

Your tape needs to be tackey rather than sticky, thats why it won't damage the paint undreneath. also it should nice and thin, like the Tamiya stuff so you get a good, crisp edge. Your tape looks like automotive tape (Scotch?), it's not something I've used as I find it tend to be to sticky. Hope this helps.

alright thanks..... now i gotta go back out to the store to get tamiya tape... is there any other way to cover the parts up?, by using bags or something!!!


Thanks....... Ev

Good old fashioned news paper works... lo tech but cheap. Tap up to the line and a bit back, use paper for 'general' coverage. Are you airbrushing or rattle can painting?

rattle can.... also by the way....do i need clear coat for a gloss TS-20 metallic green paint from tamiya???

I'd say yes, use a clear coat on metallics. However, use it with care. There's a threed round here about it some where that's well worth checking out before you start.